So today we had the Baptism of Jesus a la Matthew, and the start of Isaiah 42, one of the 'servant songs'.

And I wanted it to be a fairly gentle service, not too much by way of challenges and something by way of encouragement, which the servant song does very nicely.

As part of our all age bit, we made origmai hearts with blessings drawn and written (drawn as some people can't read or wirte, some people have limited English; written as lots of people are words persons) inside them which we then gathered and redistributed.  It pretty much worked except one fewer blessing went into the basket than was taken out - so there wasn't one left for me.  That made me smile, and I think that in that I was blessed - blessed that people joined in, blessed that everyone else got  a herat to take home, blessed with the gift of a smile.

The servant song is rich in enouragement, in how it speaks of God and of the servant, understood by Christians to be Jesus. 

Two promises to treasure for the year ahead, I think, if we first dare to see ourselves as the servant(s) of God...

Firstly God loves us and delights in us.  The love we pretty much take as read, but delight God looks on us, and smiles, is thrilled, dances a happy dance, whatever it is that God does to demonstrate delight... wow!

Secondly, God takes us by the hand.  God is no mere bystander, no remote general barking orders.  God is there, in the thick of it, holding our hands.  The squeeze of friend, perhaps, or the firm, reassuring hand of a parent; the steadying of someone wiser, or the gentle tug of one drawing us into an adventure.  An old hand, a young hand, a familiar hand, a strange hand.  However we imagine it, God's hand is in ours - or ours is in God's. As the slightly annoying (pace Mr Redman) worship would express it:

"Never once did we ever walk alone

Never once did You leave us on our own

You are faithful, God, You are faithful""

From 'Never Once' by Matt Redman

Beloved, delighted in, held secure - with promises like these to return to and remember in the days and weeks ahead, 2014 is already blessed.